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nickthesidekick

BDR

Fire Starter
Contributor
Good Citizen

Are you behind if it takes you more then 1 year to transition form BDR to AE?


I'm a new BDR in my company. Almost all of my coworkers have been BDRs for 2+ years now some having 3-4 yrs of experience. 

I constantly see that the trajectory for becoming an AE is around 8-16 months if you crush it as a BDR. Now if you go over that are you behind or is that 1 year time frame possible only if your a top rep, making it a not so 'average' thing to do.
☁️ Software Tech
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mitts2
Politicker
9
Account Executive
Not sure where you are looking but I would say the normal trajectory for SDR / BDR to AE is closer to 18 -24 months in a lot of places. Obviously there are outliers but I would temper your expectations on the 8-16 months range. 

That said, you are definitely not behind the 8 ball if it takes longer than a year. Be intentional about your path, ask what you need to do to take the next step, keep working hard on those skills and your time will come.
SaaSam
Politicker
2
Account Executive
Agreed, 8-16 months definitely used to be the norm but not so much anymore. Plus this will definitely vary from company to company. A lot of it has to do with the current need for AEs. 
hh456
Celebrated Contributor
2
sales
Took me just over year to become a level-4 rep (ae). Did that for 2 years.
I saw people do it faster and I saw people do it slower. Everyone runs a different race!
Diablo
Politicker
1
Sr. AE
If YOU feel you're behind then you're. If you really want to became an AE but not getting transition internally, try applying out. I have seen people getting into an AE role in 6 months (of course outside the company). Don't discourage yourself. Crush it and all the best!
Wellss
Tycoon
1
Channel sales
I think a lot of depends on the company. For example, they usually (or should at least) have a 'career plan' of how you can expect to move up the ladder in given time. It also depends on if the company is strict on promoting internally or outsources to find AE's & other roles. So I think a lot goes into it, but I wouldn't say you're behind by any means.
fidelcashflow
Catalyst
0
Account Executive
Not exactly. If you work at like Salesforce for example today, would probably be 18-24 months. A high growth B-C series startup would be like 12-18 months. If you really want to do it in <12 months you would have to be at an extremely early stage startup that is about to hit growth where there's only a few SDRs. In my experience, I've only seen people do it in less than a year with my example above. Just me though.
thesecretsauce
Politicker
0
Business Development
No you’re not
Chickenwing3791
Opinionated
0
SDR Manager
I did 16 months as an SDR and 10 months as SDR Manager before I made the jump to AE
Flippinghubs
Opinionated
0
Account Executive
Different ways to get to the same outcome. dont sweat it my guy 

The_Sales_Badger
Notorious Answer
0
Account Executive
The question is, how quickly are your peers being promoted?  I'm talking about the top 10%?
HockeyGuyInSales
Good Citizen
0
Account Executive
This definitely depends on the company. Larger companies that have a well-oiled SDR program usually have a minimum of at least 18 months. To move up quicker at a company without a clearly defined timeline to promotion is dependent on both you and the company's ability to prepare you for the next step. Some factors that affect this are the SDR manager, the SDR career path (some companies have things like senior BDRs, inside account executives, etc. that precede closing roles), outside factors like the company having a preference toward outside hires vs. internal promotions. 
SaaSecurity
Opinionated
0
Enterprise Account Executive
It totally depends on a lot of different factors. I was an SDR at one company for 1.5 years and realized there wasn’t a good promotion path. I left that company and found one that had a better one. I was an SDR there for 1.3 years before getting into an AE role. Some companies move ppl up quicker because they need to scale, some move them up slower. It also depends on how quickly you want to move.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
0
🦊
How are you now?

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